Page 1 of Running Play (Gods of Campus #1)

Shelby

Hot breath tickles my ear, causing nausea to permeate through my body. “How could you end this, Shelby!? End us, we are perfect together, how can you not see that?” He spits out every word, triggering a lump of despair to form in my throat.

I push gently at his chest with my one free hand as his strong body pins me to my bedroom floor.

I don’t want to fight against him...not yet, not when I still might be able to reason with him.

To talk, beg, and plead with him to get off me and leave my house, but he doesn’t budge.

Instead, he pushes down harder, and that’s when I feel his hardness grind against my thigh.

I close my eyes in disbelief and swallow the lump in my throat… this can’t be happening.

“Justin,” I squeeze out, my voice trembling in desperation. I concentrate on my voice, erasing the fear from it and trying again. “Justin! Please, can we talk about this? Please just let me up.”

His body traps mine, one hand gripping my wrist, his knuckles turning white under the pressure. No doubt I will have marks there tomorrow, but so much fear is pulsating through my body, I can’t even feel the pain.

“No, Shelby, you’ve ignored me long enough.

Now it’s time for you to remember. Remember how good we were together.

” He kisses the side of my jaw as a tear slides down my face.

My eyes canvas my bedroom for anything to save me—this is my haven, my safe place—but it’s useless, I can barely lift my head.

“Let’s talk about this, please,” I beg.

“I tried to talk to you, remember? Over and over again! All those text messages, all those phone calls, the flowers, you just ignored me, like I was nothing!” He spits the last words out, causing an angry vein to shoot like a bolt of lightning down the middle of his forehead.

His eyes are cold, heartless, and that’s what worries me the most. Looking into those vengeful eyes, that hollow blackness around the slightest ring of hazel.

It tells me no matter what I say, how much I plead, nothing will change his mind, but still I try.

“I won’t ignore you. I promise. Let’s talk now.” I force myself to smile but it’s weak. “Just please let me up,” I plead, wriggling my body to see if he will loosen his grip.

His face nudges into my jaw and I swallow the sickness forming in my throat.

“But I missed this body underneath me. I miss touching you, holding you.” He drags his tongue painfully slow from my jaw all the way to my cheekbone.

“Being inside you.” He looks down at me with a smile, resting his forehead against mine and exhaling slowly.

“You are so perfect.” He kisses my nose.

“Together we are perfect. Just you and me, nobody else, not your parents, sister, or friends—just us two. I can see our future together, baby. A house in the suburbs, with a couple of kids, looks amazing. I just need you to see it again too!”

My right hand begins to throb as the adrenaline slowly fades, pain twisting in my wrist as he pushes it harder into the wooden floor.

My left hand is still positioned flat against his chest. “You’re hurting me.

” Pushing harder this time, I subconsciously will the numbness to come back to stop the pain.

He smiles down at me, a sinister smile, and dips his head down, kissing and licking my neck.

His hand trails down the side of my ribcage til he reaches the hem of my shirt.

The moment his hand grazes my bare stomach instinctively causes my body to recoil. Fuck this and fuck him!

“GET OFF ME!” I scream as I begin to lash out underneath him.

Fear and adrenaline pulse through my body as I decide now is the time to fight.

It’s clear nothing I say is going to change his mind.

I push even harder, my other wrist cracking under the change in direction as I bring my knee up high to connect with his groin.

It’s a direct hit on his blood-filled erection, and he lets out a loud gasp of pain. Welcome to my world, asshole .

His body recoils upward, and his grasp relaxes enough that I’m able to turn to my side, find my footing, and run.

My arms thrash out, knocking over the vase of white roses, the ones I found on my bedside table when I entered my room.

Seeing those had me paralyzed with fear, giving Justin the time to sneak out of my closet and grab me.

The flowers tumble to the floor, water splashing and glass shattering as I scramble out of my bedroom door.

My brain already has my body racing out of my apartment in my fight for survival, but my body hasn’t caught up, stumbling as I head down the hallway toward the stairs.

“Shelby!” I hear Justin roar from behind me.

“You fucking get back here!” He’s close.

I push my body harder, my feet hitting the first step as I race down them.

Just as my foot hits the bottom step, my hand reaches to grab the handle of the front door.

But before I can pull it open and run outside, Justin’s hard body slams into me.

It knocks the air out of my lungs as the door slams shut with the force of both our bodies being thrown up against it.

He spins me around with such anger and intensity, my ankle twists in pain.

I scream out in horror, my whole body a rush of agony and emotion as I lose balance and tumble to the ground.

My lungs burn from lack of air as Justin throws his body down over mine.

I was so close, so close to freedom, so close to help, and I can’t stop the tears and screams that escape.

“Stop fighting me!” he shouts into my face.

But this time I fight instantly, my body thrashing, eyes blurry from tears, my hair strewn across my face.

I don’t know where this energy is coming from as I can barely see, but I kick, buck, scratch, claw, and scream for him to get off me.

He retaliates by grabbing a fistful of my blonde hair and throwing my head back into the hardwood floor.

My arms fall to the side, my vision blurs, my head screaming in pain, and I’m done, so done.

I don’t know how much longer I can hold on.

My limbs are leaden, each strike weaker than the last. He’s too strong, and I’m running out of fight.

Still—I keep swinging, keep kicking, even as exhaustion drags me down.

A flash of something has my head turning.

Not something—someone—as my neighbor barrels through the door, tackling Justin and knocking him off me.

They land with a hard thud beside me, fists swinging, they grunt and yell, wrestling around on the floor.

Energy deep down in my body ignites as I spring to my feet and rush out the front door.

Sirens cut through the dark sky, and two police cars come screeching to a halt in my driveway as I race into the darkness of my front lawn.

***

My hands are still shaking as I sit in the back of an ambulance and watch Justin get led away in handcuffs. His eyes are watching me, never wavering from my face. My mom stares him down as she hugs me tightly, pressing me hard against her chest and securing the blanket around me.

“You are always going to be mine, Shelby,” he yells. “You hear me? No matter what happens, I will find you!”

Mom grips me closer.

“Shut your mouth!” the policeman grunts as he pulls hard on the handcuffs secured behind Justin’s back, but Justin continues to leer at me. “You belong to me, sweetness, never forget that!” This earns him another hard tug on his handcuffs.

A single tear rolls down my cheek as I watch him disappear into the back of the police car. My mom stands, blocking me from his vision, and away from his sinister gaze. She holds me close as she strokes my hair. “It’s okay, my baby, it’s over now.”

The police car disappears down the street, but the fear stays heavy in my chest. My breath is uneven, my hands clammy.

I tell myself it’s over, but deep down, I know better.